Why does Skyrim's stealth archer feel so good compared to every other game?

[RiftenWanderer]

I've been playing through Baldur's Gate 3 lately and it's incredible, but man, sneaking around as an archer in Skyrim just hits different. There's something about the way the game lets you line up a shot, the slow-mo on crits, the way enemies don't immediately know where you are. BG3 has way more tactical depth but it feels clunkier somehow.

Kingdom Come tried to do stealth more "realistically" and it just made me appreciate how Skyrim nailed the feel. Even when I'm doing a stealth archer run for the dozenth time, it never gets old. Is it just because the game is more forgiving, or does Skyrim actually have better stealth mechanics than I'm giving it credit for?

Curious if anyone else finds sneaking in other RPGs frustrating after spending time in Skyrim. Like, once you go back to a system where stealth is this binary thing, it's hard to adjust.

 

[DragonbornVet]

Skyrim's stealth is forgiving in a way that feels good but isn't actually more complex - it's just tuned for that dopamine hit. The slow-mo on killcams, the way detection works on a spectrum instead of "seen/not seen", the enemy AI that breaks line of sight and forgets you pretty quick. It's all designed to reward you constantly without punishing failure too hard.

BG3 and Kingdom Come are trying to simulate actual tactical awareness or physics, which means you get caught and it sucks. Skyrim abstracts that away. You can literally stand in front of a guard if your Sneak is high enough and they won't notice. That's not realistic, but it feels like you're outsmarting them because the game gives you visual feedback and pacing that makes sense.

The other thing is enemy pathfinding. Skyrim's AI is pretty dumb - they'll search for you in a cone, lose interest, go back to whatever. Once you understand that pattern (which takes like 5 minutes), sneaking becomes almost trivial. Other games make enemies actually search intelligently, which is more realistic but way less fun when you're just trying to chill and shoot people in the back.

Honestly I think it's less that Skyrim has better stealth mechanics and more that it has the best feel for stealth in an RPG. It's tuned for power fantasy, not survival. And yeah, going back to something like BG3's turn-based stealth or Kingdom Come's hyper-realistic detection ranges does feel clunky after Skyrim spoiled you.